Port inks deal with Los Angeles for police cross-training

San Diego’s Harbor Police Department, administered by the Port of San Diego, has announced that it will execute a joint training agreement with the Port of Los Angeles’ Port Police Department today, April 5.

The Port of Los Angeles has teamed with the California Emergency Management Agency and the federal Department of Homeland Security to develop the Regional Maritime Law Enforcement Training Center, a facility designed to train state and local law enforcement in procedures for enforcing local, state, and federal law on and around the water.

Local harbor police are being brought on board as experts in maritime firefighting. According to a release from the Port, harbor police are the only law enforcement agency in the county dually trained as firefighters, with each officer completing a minimum of 120 hours at the department’s Marine Firefighting Academy in addition to a traditional police academy.